NJ Lottery has finally approved the plan to sell draw-based lottery tickets online starting next year.
When it was first proposed back in 2022, the conference yielded mixed reviews. The New Jersey Lottery representatives claimed that the expansion to online sales would be very beneficial to everyone. However, local business owners are quite displeased with this plan. They believe that it will damage their brick-and-mortar lottery sales in the long run.
During the interview, the New Jersey Lottery representatives claimed this would be very beneficial for them socially and economically. For example, they stated that the online sales would “have a favorable social impact by giving access to potential players that might not currently be able to play the Lottery due to mobility restrictions, restrictions resulting from COVID-19, and other factors.”
They stated that these online sales will help reduce fraudulent events as well as pique interest in younger crowds.
The NJ Lottery representatives also vehemently claimed that this would increase ticket sales. They stated that online sales would increase the purchasing options for gamers, which would make it more appealing for them.
When asked whether this move would affect the current job market, the NJ Lottery officials denied these allegations. They stated that the expansion to online sales would not result in lost jobs, quite the contrary. They believe that this move will inevitably create even more jobs.
The launch of online draw-game ticket sales will change the New Jersey Lottery system as we know it. It will benefit them a lot, as they will adapt to the new virtual landscape ahead of them. But at the same time, it may have the opposite effect on local business owners.
The New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience Store, Automotive Association (NJGCSAA) also had something to say about NJ Lottery’s decision. They claimed that this move would in turn take business from the neighborhood stores. The representatives also stated that this would make them lose out on their regulars as well as on new potential players.
On top of losing traffic from lottery customers, businesses would also lose out on the ability to earn commissions by selling winning tickets.
For example, earlier this month multiple jackpots were reported by NJ Lottery. In one such case, a person won a $1.17 million jackpot from Jersey Cash 5. By selling the person the ticket, the retailer Park Deli and Grill also scored a $2,000 profit in commissions.
With that said, nobody can say for sure what ramifications the online expansions will have on the lottery industry in New Jersey. The NHGCSAA is still adamantly against their decision, stating that the lottery shouldn’t provide a product that threatens to compete with retail sales:
“If there is a large market only captured by the availability of internet sales, shouldn’t they already be satisfied by the existing lottery courier companies? Ultimately, the State selling lottery tickets directly to the consumer through the internet puts physical retail stores in competition with the very government entity that is their supplier, distributor, and chief advertiser.”
